Empire
by The Winter Wizard
Summary: The entire Book 4 in only one single chapter! - Tired of people dying for him, Eragon takes matters into his own hands to set things right and save Alagaesia from itself. NO SLASH


**Disclaimer:** The Cycle does not belong to me!

**Author's Note:** Oddly enough, this began as a crack!fic as I'm sure you can tell but evolved into a wannabe ending for Book 4. It's just a version of how things will end and takes place pretty much right after the Battle for Feinster. I know it is entirely unrealistic but is meant to be that way. Well, that about sums it up for now. I hope it's not too dumb or painful to read and I would really appreciate your feedback.

So R&R please and, of course, enjoy!

X~X~X~X~X~X~X

Eragon Shadeslayer was wallowing in angst. His masters Oromis and Glaedr had just died like countless others in the past year and a half. Everyone he let himself get close to would die or become a bad guy and he was fed up with it.

Finally, he gave in and realised what he had to do in order to save Alagaësia from itself and, of course, the Mad King. Not wasting any time, he packed some things for a journey and left in the dead of night when everyone was asleep. The army was still weary from the Battle for Feinster so no one would be able to retrieve him like before.

Smirking in glee, he ran across Alagaësia all the way to Uru'Baen, the Dark Citadel. Truth be told, Eragon had no idea why it was called that because the walls were actually crafted out of diamonds and white, glistening marble. It used to be a jewel of the elvish kingdom before Galbatorix conquered it and made it his capitol. Now it was mostly in ruin and the outer walls were in a pathetic state of disrepair.

Eragon heaved a sigh and unsheathed his sword. It was now or never. Ignoring the commotion he caused, he stormed right past the guards in a blur and sped like an arrow towards the castle. Using his awesome elvish strength, he smashed the guards at the gate aside sending them flying in all directions. Without so much as breaking a sweat, he rammed the gate open with one swift kick.

Forcing himself to remain calm, he strode regally through the halls of the castle like the Dragon Rider he was. Frantic guards rushed madly at him but he flicked them aside with his sword using his awesome elvish strength. Spell-casters unleashed their fury at him but he did not so much as glance at them. Instead, he simply flicked his finger and with a quick spell swiftly and easily absorbed all their magic – killing them and strengthening his own.

At last he reached the throne room and took a deep breath. Bracing himself for the wrath of the Mad King, he chanted a spell and the doors exploded into a burst of sparks and splinters. The sharp pieces of wood glanced off Eragon's skin harmlessly like dust being brushed off a mantelpiece.

Eragon strode through them and stopped five feet away from the throne, folding his arms across his chest and staring appraisingly at his archenemy who sat upon it the royal chair. Much to his surprise, the Black King (another one of Galbatorix's nefarious nicknames) was not as ominous as he had grown up to believe.

Instead, the king was surprisingly short. He was only four feet tall, had a bald head with a wreath of grape vines for a crown, and a fat beer belly. His face was marred by hideous acne and he had an oily thin, moustache.

He wore fine purple and red robes but was otherwise looked nothing like a king and not even a noble man. Was this guy the evil, blood-thirsty, power-hungry tyrant who slew all the Dragon Riders and enslaved all the land? Eragon could not believe it. To make matters worse, the king was cowering and literally trembling in fear.

"Who are you?" Galbatorix squeaked in a very high-pitched voice.

"I am the Blue Rider, Slayer of Shades, Fire Sword, Beacon of Hope, Tip of the Spear, Last Dragon Lord of the Free Peoples, Master Mage, Scion of the Dwarves, Warden of the Elves, and Descendent of King Palancar himself, the First Monarch of the Human Race," Eragon said dramatically. "Now it's only polite to reciprocate likewise, so. Who are you?"

"K-king Galbatorix!" The fat man stammered, his face turning pink with embarrassment.

Eragon smirked inwardly, basking in his success. He had stretched out his mind carefully while parading through the castle and knew that neither Murtagh nor Thorn were near. It was now or never. Much to the tyrant's surprise, Eragon dropped onto one knee and bowed his head feigning a humble attitude. Truth be told, this was all a part of his ploy to set things right and take matters into his own hands as they should be.

"Your majesty," Eragon said politely. "I have a plan to stop this cursed war for once and for all. I may be the enemy but I know that in your heart you are fed up with this never-ending battle. You just want it to end which is why you are going through great lengths like creating abominations such as painless soldiers. Am I right?"

An awkward silence settled on them as the king thought, panic in his eyes.

"Yes," He admitted reluctantly.

"Well so do I," Eragon revealed. "And I know just how to do that."

"How?" The king asked warily. "Will it involve my death?"

"Not quite," Eragon replied. "I have grown over the past few months and know much now about warfare and kingship. I believe that you have served the Empire long enough and should enjoy a well-deserved retirement."

"What?" The king stammered, angry but frightened.

"Yes," Eragon said firmly. "Both you and I know that it is high time you got out of here. Whether or not you agree, the Varden, Elves, Dwarves, and Urgals will join forces and wipe you out. You will die a traitor's death and be hanged or beheaded or burned at the stake. If the people had it their way they would hack you to pieces."

The king gulped.

"But if you attack me many more will die," He said thickly.

"Exactly," Eragon said calmly, looking up at the king with a determined glint in his eyes. "Which is why I have a plan to avoid heavy losses on both sides."

"Continue," Galbatorix muttered.

"The only way for the war to be over before it destroys all of Alagaësia is for you to step down from the throne willingly," Eragon explained.

"But I can't do that!" Galbatorix gasped in horror, his eyes showing how much he abhorred the thought. "The people would murder me."

"Just as you have murdered many of them," Eragon reminded gently. "But that will not be the case. For with my help you can enjoy a peaceful retirement with your dragon as things were."

"How so?" The king asked, narrowing his eyes at the Dragon Rider.

"Using the Eldunarya you wrongly possess," Eragon said with a hint of steel in his voice making Galbatorix swallow hard. "I will cast a spell on you that shall change your appearance, permanently. You will enjoy being fit and healthy for the rest of your life although I can't promise how long that will be. Your dragon will share a Bond with you as it was meant to be and I will grant you a small domain in an obscure part of the land where no one will bother looking for you."

"And what do you want in exchange?" Galbatorix hissed.

"You will step down from the throne and pass all power and authority to _me,_" Eragon said sternly.

"What?" Galbatorix asked, clearly not expecting this twist. "You want the kingdom for yourself! How ironic is that?"

"No," Eragon sighed as if correcting a toddler, making the king bristle. "I want to control the Empire to save the Empire. I want to save it from itself lest you in your darkness and corruption destroy it. You are over one hundred years old anyways and it is soon your time to die. This is a kinder fate than how you might pass on to the other side should the Varden and her allies win the war. Do you not agree?"

A tense silence hung over the two leaders as they engaged each other in a stare-down, each thinking thoughts of their own. Finally, the king let out a sigh.

"Very well," He murmured. "I accept your plan."

Eragon's heart nearly leapt in his throat. "You do?"

"Aye," The king said with a nod of his head. "But you must swear in the Ancient Language that you shall keep your word."

Eragon bobbed his head in agreement and said the oath in the Ancient Language. When the king was finally satisfied he stood up from his throne looking a million years younger.

"Well," He said lightly. "I shan't expect you to forgive me, but you should know that after sitting a million years on this corrupted and rotting Empire has shown me the error of my ways. I am just too stubborn to change, but now there is still a chance at victory for both sides."

"Indeed," Eragon agreed.

Not wasting any more time, he communicated with the Eldunarya when Galbatorix gave him permission and they reluctantly agreed to this so long as Eragon would destroy them when he was finished. They had been twisted to do so many things that they wanted to end.

It pained Eragon to do so but he agreed, simply glad that the Eldunarya agreed at all. They only did so because they knew this was the only way to end the war. Of course, Eragon had Galbatorix swear an oath in the Ancient Language on his Bond and Magic that he would keep his word and not wage war on anyone else forever more.

And so the war ended in one fateful evening. Eragon changed the king's appearance and transformed his majesty's dragon to dark silver in colour. He then sent them off to Shark Tooth Island where he cast secret wards that would prevent them from leaving.

Being able to use magic, they built a fine home for themselves and spent the last few years they had as Rider and Dragon. The king was by no means redeemed of but Eragon respected him for making the right choice. The next few months passed in a blur. Because the king gave up his hold on the throne all oaths made to him were broken.

Murtagh and Thorn were freed and allied themselves with the Varden. Eragon quickly called Saphira and his dragon eventually came to terms with him running off in the dead of night. Eragon and Saphira then went on to put all the corrupt and greedy nobles in their place.

The duo moved on to the Varden who were just now approaching Drass-Leona. You can imagine their surprise when Eragon, wearing the crown of the Empire, led his army to a halt in front of the Varden's. He quickly called for a truce and soon a meeting was set up between the Empire, Varden, Elves, Dwarves, and Urgals.

Eragon explained everything and the different races eventually made peace. Eragon, of course, was released from Nasuada's service as the woman was made queen of the humans. Eragon surprised the leader by asking her hand in marriage to form an official alliance. Nasuada agreed and they were soon wed.

Eragon shocked everyone by making the same preposition to Islanzadí. The elvish queen took a little longer to accept but knew that the world needed change to make peace and this was the only way to prevent war from rising up in the near future so she agreed. Murtagh was redeemed eventually and became the captain of the Empire's army. He met Arya and they became friends and eventually lovers.

While it hurt Eragon slightly, he contented himself with his own two wives and eventually got over his first time crush realising that not all first loves worked out. As for the others, Roran became the Baron of Palancar and was also the leader of the war council in that area. Angela formed a school for magic and showed people that not all witchcraft was evil.

The dwarves made peace with the Empire too by becoming patron builders. Rebuilding the Empire was their command and they did it proudly and a superb job of it too. The Urgals were not forgotten either and became a type of "universal" peace keeper force much like the Dragon Riders had.

They were governed by Nar Gozhbog and became quite popular amongst the people for helping in the fight against slavery and dark practices that hurt other people or were utterly barbaric. The people rejoiced that war was over and enjoyed a new Golden Age of piece and plenty. Eventually, the land healed and elves even mingled with humans freely again. The dwarves became master builders and were renown throughout all the land.

King Eragon governed Alagaësia with a firm justice tempered by unbiased mercy. The war might not have been won exactly as the people dreamed of with a dramatic hero slaying the evil king and winning his one true love, but it was over all the same and better off for it. And whatever the case, Eragon was glad for he knew that contrary to what some people thought he had done the right thing. The land was at peace and so was he. In the end, that was all that really mattered.

**The End**

**A/N:** Well there you have it - Book 4 in one chapter! How about that? Never thought I'd pull that one off. Guess that subsitutes for all the Book 4's I started but never finished due to Writer's Blocks, lethargy, and procrastination - the Big (evil) Three of authorship. Speaking of which, sorry about the AxE but I thought I'd do something different for a change since Arya has told Eragon at least twice that they are a pointless cause.

That doesn't mean I don't like AxE or AxM because I do and don't (do like AxE and don't like AxM). Anyhow, I'd really appreciate your comments on all this but do take note that flames will be used to roast marshamellows for good reviewers so there's no point in that really. But enough cheesyness! That about sums it up for now, aside from another last reminder to review, review, review.

Many thanks in advance! :)

~ Elf Knight ~


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